The surprising Harry Potter villain that actually scared Stephen King
Stephen King is responsible for terrorising horror fans worldwide, especially due to the ever-increasing popularity of his novels and his film adaptations. With more adaptations on the way, thanks to the efforts of streaming platforms like Netflix, it seems like King’s stature as the most prominent popular fiction author has been completely cemented.
In addition to his horror works, King has provided extensive commentary on the history as well as the future of the genre. Over the years, he has published compilations of academic essays on the subject while simultaneously maintaining his columns on popular culture in prestigious publications.
While King has previously cited horror classics such as Night of the Living Dead among his favourites, he has often explored the horror elements in other famous works in popular culture like Harry Potter or The Wire. During a conversation with EW, King once revealed that he was actually scared by a surprising Harry Potter villain, and it’s not Voldemort.
King began by explaining the importance of an antagonist within the Harry Potter universe. He said: “A great fantasy novel can’t exist without a great villain, and while You-Know-Who (sure we do: Lord Voldemort) is a little too far out in the supernatural ozone to qualify, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts does just fine in this regard.”
According to the writer, the Ministry of Magic’s Hogwarts plant, Dolores Umbridge, was the scariest villain of the series. He commented: “The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toad-like face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter.”
Within the Harry Potter fandom, Umbridge is usually cited as one of the most hated characters, but King believes that only great character design can illicit such a visceral response from readers and viewers. While King was reading the novel, he was terrified by Umbridge’s power over him as well as her manipulative skills.
King added: “One needn’t be a child to remember The Really Scary Teacher, the one who terrified us so badly that we dreaded the walk to school in the morning, and we turn the pages partly in fervent hopes that she will get her comeuppance… but also in growing fear of what she will get up to next. For surely a teacher capable of banning Harry Potter from playing Quidditch is capable of anything.”
